Damn you, keys!
by Crying Irony
Summary: Sasuke's locked out of his house in the middle of a blizzard!Sakura lets him stay the night. First fic , please dont flame.


Hey everyone! This is my first story , and since I'm painfully shy about posting up my writing, please be nice! . Constructive criticism is appreciated!

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Summary: Sasuke's locked out of his house in the middle of a blizzard! Sakura agrees to let him stay the night. 

**Bold : Inner voice.**

_Italic: thoughts_

**Damn you, **

keys!

Sasuke blew out a gust of air , watching as it misted up in front of his eyes. The thick snow that was currently disturbing his thoughts was blanketing the ground , causing the bridge that had long since been a meeting point for Team 7 to appear as sleepy and frozen as he did. Kakashi sensei was about forty minutes late , as usual. Sasuke felt a stab of annoyance.

_We're in the middle of one of the biggest blizzards Konoha has ever seen , and he cant drag his perverted ass here on time. _

On his right , Naruto stood there shivering. "Damn pervert!" he yelled. "By the time he gets here, I'll be stuck inside an ice cube!"

Sakura just stood there , watching Naruto's antics. _Even in this weather, he wont shut up. _Sakura twitched in annoyance. "Naruto! Shut up before you cause an avalanche!"

"But Sakura-chan , I'm freezing here! I can't just stay quiet!" Naruto whined.

"Shut up dobe."

That startled the both of them out of their conversation. For a moment everything was peaceful and quiet. The silence was actually a welcome change from Naruto's constant whining! Then Sasuke's words registered through Naruto's thick skull.

"Shut up bastard! Nobody asked you!" Naruto yelled.

_For everything holy , will they ever shut up! _thought Sakura.

"**Hey!" Inner Sakura shouted. "We're supposed to be on Sasuke's side!"**

Sakura sighed. She wasn't about to start fighting with herself again. It was enough that her parents thought she was crazy, she didn't need her teammates also thinking she was unbalanced! Sakura decided to intervene. "Sasuke-kun ,Naruto ,calm down. We're all just a little tense from the cold."

All of a sudden, a loud **poof!** and a cloud of smoke announced the arrival of their incredibly late sensei. "Good morning Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke," He said with a grin. "It's such a funny story of why I'm late. You see , on the road of life there are many turns and twists , and I happened to……." And he went on into a rant about why he was so late. They all sweatdropped.

"Whatever , can we just get this over with?" asked Sasuke.

And so, after an hour and a half of sparring in whatever way they could in the horrible weather, they were set free to go home.

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Sakura said goodbye to everyone , and after rejecting Naruto's usual proposal to walk her home, she set out into the silent, frosty village. Upon walking home, she noticed just how beautiful her sleepy hometown was in the snow. She sighed dreamily. The crystalline flakes seemed to fall from the heavens, blessing the village with a winter blanket.

She spent so much time dreaming, she hadn't realized her feet were taking her straight to her house. With a start, she realized she was right in front of her door. Sliding her key into the lock, Sakura opened her door and flopped down on the couch._ I'd better make some tea before I freeze to death._

Setting the kettle on the stove, she sat down and waited for the water to boil. "_I wonder what Sasuke's doing right now ."_ she thought.

She hoped he was as warm and comfortable as she was.

Little did she know , the Uchiha prodigy was having no such luck.

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After training, Sasuke watched his pink haired teammate leave the training site. For an inexplicable reason, he felt he urge to go with her.

"**Because you like her, you idiot" said Inner Sasuke.**

"_Shut up! I don't like her!" _Sasuke argued.

"**Which is why you followed her last Thursday until she got to her door." Said the inner voice , smirking.**

"_It was dark! The last thing the team needs is one of the members getting hurt!"_

"**Whatever." Said Inner Sasuke said , knowing he won the argument. **

Sighing in frustration, Sasuke plowed through the streets until he reached the Uchiha estate. Walking up the paved road leading to the house, he searched his pockets for his keys. When all his fingers met was the fabric of his pockets, he frowned. Now searching a little more desperately, he combed his fingers through his pockets. Unfortunately, all he found was pocket lint.

_That's great , _he thought to himself, _That's great! I'm locked out of my house on the single coldest day in Konoha._

Sitting on the porch steps, he thought of his options.

Kakashi?

No, he'd probably make him read his perverted books. Shuddering at the thought, he racked his brain for more options.

Naruto?

No, he'd never let him live it down.

That only left one more teammate to consider. Groaning, he picked himself up off the porch. Shaking off the snow that had piled up during his little brain episode, he set off for the pink haired girls house.

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The whistling kettle snapped Sakura out of her nap. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she walked into the kitchen and turned off the gas. Yawning, she filled a mug with the steaming water, and dropped in a teabag.

Once again she dropped onto the couch. Not the smartest thing to do with a hot mug of tea in your hands. The water spilled on her sweater, causing her to loudly yelp in pain. Taking the sweater off , she heard the doorbell ring.

"Coming!" she called. Goddamn visitors. Who would visit her in this weather? If it was Naruto in a panic that Ichiraku was closed, heads would roll.

Rushing to the door , she grabbed the handle and swung the door open. Standing there covered in snow , with a look of bewilderment on his face, was none other than the Uchiha prodigy himself!

Before opening her mouth to say anything, she noticed a blush on Sasuke's face.

"Sakura, I t-think you forgot something." He managed out. His face color rivaled the tomato's that he loved so much.

Looking down at herself, Sakura let out a shriek of humiliation. In her hurry, she hadn't bothered to put on a shirt!

Running upstairs, she threw on a tight fleece sweater to keep her warm. _"I cant believe I could actually be so stupid!" _she frantically thought to herself. _Who forgets to put a shirt on?_

Meanwhile downstairs, Sasuke sat down on the couch , trying to get Sakura's perfectly curved body out of his head. Bashing his head repeatedly against the coffee table seemed to work nicely. _" Bad Kakashi-like thoughts! Get out of my head!"_

"**You know you liked it." Said Inner Sasuke.**

"_Shut up you! I don't need to hear you right now!"_

Meanwhile, Sakura had come downstairs to find her beloved Sasuke bashing his head against her coffee table. "Sasuke-kun?" she asked cautiously.

His head snapped up. "Huh?"

"Are you … alright?"

"Yes, now stop acting stupid. Its annoying."

There they were again. Those trademark words that seemed to slip out whenever they felt like it. Inside he winced at how harsh his words sounded.

Sakura, on the other hand seemed unfazed.

"Sasuke, is everything alright? I mean , not that I don't want you here , but why _are_ you here?"

Sasuke took a long breath. "Well you see, I left my key somewhere, and now I'm locked out. I wanted to ask you if I could spend the night here."

Sakura pretty much melted. Inner Sakura was cheering like a cheerleader on Red Bull.

"Of course you can! Do you want tea?"

Sasuke has his usual stoic expression painted on his face. Inside though, his insides were dancing with relief.

"Sasuke-kun? I asked you if you wanted tea.."

"Hn. Sure."

Sakura took her mug back to the kitchen. Her mind was going a mile a minute. _He's here! And he's spending the night! _Sakura then remembered what she was in here for. Taking another mug out of the cupboard, she filled both up with more hot water and dropped in the teabags.

In another minute she brought him tea and sat down next to him.

In times like this , Sakura would have usually struck up conversation, but now she was silent. The awkwardness of the situation weighed down on both teens.

Finally Sasuke snapped. "Sakura?"

His voice brought her back down to earth. "Hmm?"

"Thanks."

She wasn't upset by the pitiful thank you; she knew he wasn't good with words. She smiled at him and told him to think nothing of it.

For how long they sat there neither of them knew. Finally , as the last bleak rays of the sun disappeared , she decided to talk.

"So. Do you need clothes to change into?"

He just nodded his head yes.

Getting up ,she stole a glance. A model of a perfect man and still, he was untouchable. Not even because he made himself be that way. Suddenly , through a pang of mixed emotions,one stood out clearly. Not that constant yearning. Not love, not lust. Sympathy. Sympathy for Sasuke , because he was cold. Because he had let himself become so cold.

Sasuke could feel her eyes on him. Clearing his throat, he got her attention. She excused herself and quickly went upstairs.

When she came back down , in her hands were a pair of boxers and a long cotton tee shirt.

Sasuke took them from her and thanked her again.

"Sakura, where's the bathroom?" he asked.

She pointed to a room a little bit down the hall.

While he was changing , Sakura finished her tea and changed into her pajamas upstairs. When he got out of the bathroom , she was setting up a bed for him on the couch. Deciding to help her, he took the blankets and pillows and put them onto the couch. Satisfied with the bed , Sakura bid Sasuke goodnight.

Upstairs, her room was freezing. Snuggling underneath her blankets, she shivered.

She didn't want to disturb Sasuke by making more tea, but after another fifteen minutes she got tired of listening to her teeth chatter.

Groping her way down the stairs, she blindly made her way to the kitchen. As luck would have it , she tripped over the last step and tumbled into the living room. Sitting there, on her ass wasn't the most comfortable position she could have been in at that moment.

Getting up, Sasuke held out a hand for Sakura to get up. Taking it , Sakura blushed at how close to each other they were at the moment. With her heart racing, she managed out a small "Thank you.."

"What are you doing down here? Cant sleep?" asked Sasuke.

"I'm freezing up in my room , so I want more tea."

Sasuke looked at her shivering form , and before he knew it , words had tumbled out of his mouth.

"You can stay here with me if you want."

Sakura was shocked. Sasuke, the human Ice block, offering to share a bed with her? She didn't know if she would ever get another opportunity like this. Thank goodness for the dark or they would have both seen how much the other was blushing.

"S-sure Sasuke , thanks." She replied in a small voice.

Sighing, she forgot about the tea and climbed into the bed. Turning on her side, she felt the weight shift . They were now in the same bed together. If only they knew how much their hearts were racing. Yes, hormones are very scary.

Unfortunately for Sakura, she was still freezing! She was sure Sasuke could feel her shivering. All of a sudden , she felt tw arms wrap protectively around her waist. Now blushing like mad, she lay still.

Sasuke didn't know what made him do it. Maybe seeing her lying there shivering just struck a nerve. All he knew was he couldn't let her keep shaking.

In a couple of minutes, Sakura loosened up. In a small, timid voice she whispered his name. "Sakura, just rest now." He said quietly. With that said, she buried her face into the crook of his neck and fell asleep within minutes. Unlike her, he stayed awake stroking her hair and listening to her heartbeat.

There it finally hit him. He was peaceful. He hadn't allowed himself that feeling in years. It felt like he was finally breathing fresh air. For that night, he allowed himself to forget about his brother, about everything. He allowed himself to just lay there contentedly stroking the hair of his precious cherry blossom. Eventually, he nodded off into a well deserved sleep. And for once, he didn't wake up until morning.

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As the rays of morning hit her face, Sakura opened her eyes lazily. Blushing, she realized she wasn't alone in the bed. Distracting her from her girlish thoughts was the expression on Sasuke's face. His face was blissfully peaceful. It made her smile, to see that he was finally resting.

Getting up from her position on the bed, she giggled when she saw the frown on Sasuke's face that appeared when she got up.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. He missed his main source of warmth. Sakura.

As she walked back into the room she smiled at him. And for once he smiled back.

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Sitting at the breakfast table, Sakura observed Sasuke eating. He seemed in a good mood today. She blushed remembering the previous night. She was so busy remembering, she didn't hear the certain raven haired boy when he told her that he had to leave.

Snapping out of her daze, she felt a stab of disappointment. Obviously nothing had changed between them. Biting back tears, she smiled and walked him to the door.

It seemed that every time she broke through his wall a little , he built another layer to protect himself. It really was never ending.

Sasuke stood at the door, waiting for her to say something. He cleared his throat to signal his leaving. She smiled and let a few tears fall.

Watching her was heartbreaking. He wanted to tell her so bad what he felt, he wanted to hug her the way he did in the night, wanted to do anything to stop her crying. All he did was leave out the door.

Watching his back go up her walkway , she felt a stab of pain go straight through her heart. She was so close, and she lost him again. The thought alone was almost too much to bear.Crying silently, she closed the door.

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Hearing the door shut , he reflected on just how much of an idiot he was.

The snow on the ground seemed to show his feelings. Hard cold ice now , on the grass. He watched as the snow melted and the grass underneath showed. And that was when he realized it. No matter how cold the ice, no matter how much of it , it would always melt from the spring!

She was the spring. He was the ice. No , forget that, she was **his** spring.

Running back to the house, he had made up his mind.

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Hearing a knock on the door, Sakura got up from that wretched couch and opened the door. Just like last time , Sasuke was out of breath and blushing.

Her tongue seemed to stop cooperating with her brain, as did her body. She wanted to lash out at him , yell at him , make him see what she went through, but all she could do was stand there staring at him.

He took her hand, with his heart beating in his chest. "Sakura, come with me , I need to show you something."

He took her to the ice patch that was currently melting.

"You see, the ice is huge , but somehow , the spring melts it all away , so the grass can live on. I needed to show you what you mean to me. Sakura, you are my spring. I love you."

Sakura was speechless. With tears forming in her eyes, she managed to get her tongue to cooperate long enough to say those magic words. "Sasuke, I love you too."

Leaning in, he stared into her eyes, the same eyes that had fascinated him in their earlier years. They were older now , no less stubborn, just as amazed by each other. Briefly smiling, he sealed the gap between them in a kiss that would begin everything for them.

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R&R please ) Once again , constructive criticism is welcome. 


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